Lam Dong should become a growth engine of Central Highlands: PM

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on November 20 asked Lam Dong province to work harder to become a growth engine of the Central Highlands and the country as well, particularly in tourism, services, cultural industry and high-tech agriculture, given its unique potential and comparative advantages.

At a meeting with the Standing Board of the provincial Party Committee, the Government leader said Lam Dong should pay more attention to regional cooperation and connectivity.

He also urged the province to step up growth model reform towards green, harmonious and sustainable development, and apply science-technology and cutting-edge technology, especially in the areas where it has great potential like tourism, logistics, agriculture, processing industry and support industry.

In agriculture, Lam Dong should accelerate sectoral restructuring and focus on developing a number of products of national brands, he added. At the same time, the province needs to better the planning work to create new development space and promote sustainable development, while rolling out mechanisms and polities to attract and utilise development resources, Chinh said.

The PM also highlighted the importance of the public-private partnership (PPP), and the need to accelerate public investment disbursement, as well as the implementation of national target programmes. In infrastructure, priority should be given to the sectors of transport, health care, education, industrial parks and clusters, information, telecoms and irrigation, he continued.

The leader pointed to other tasks for Lam Dong regarding administrative reform, social welfare, land and forest management, environmental protection and climate change response.

From now till the end of this year, the province must complete the planning work, public investment disbursement as planned, site clearance in service of projects, control prices and goods supply, and ensure social welfare for people, bringing them a happy Tet (Lunar New Year) festival, he requested.

According to a report presented at the meeting, Lam Dong expects to fulfill all the 18 socio-economic targets set for this year, of which six are expected to be overfulfilled. Its gross regional domestic product (GRDP) per capita this year is estimated at 75.3 million VND (3,035 USD), the highest in the Central Highlands region. The locality’s budget collection in the first 10 months exceeded the set target by 6% and went up 26% year-on-year.

Earlier, PM Chinh visited Dalat Hasfarm Company Limited that provides flower varieties and the Da Lat railway station that was built by France in the 1930s and is now a cultural and historical relic site and a typical tourism product of the locality./.